Reclining king-post crane and method of erecting it



April 1, 1969 J OLITERMANN ET AL RECLINING KING-POST CRANE AND METHOD OF ERECTING IT Sheet Filed Dec. 5, 1967 R U a E n v, m NN WW m n N mm mwm a a m ww Q w m p I E u JMJ v J w mm Q w B WN mN k\ N 3 M .I|| I a W J N Illilll a AW W m M, QR, M Q\ MY k "KN w w MN WN M a M April 1, 1969 3,435,571 h RECLINING KING-POST CRANE AND METHOD OF ERECTING IT J. J. OLTERMANN ET AL Sheef, 2 of 2 Filed Dec.

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United States Patent 3,435,571 RECLINING KING-POST CRANE AND METHOD OF ERECTING IT John J. Oltermann, New Orleans, La., Joseph R. Woolslayer and Cecil Jenkins, Tulsa, Okla., assignors to Lee C. Moore Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Dec. 5, 1967, Ser. No. 688,251 Int. Cl. E04h 12/34; E04g 21/14; E0211 17/00 US. Cl. 52-119 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The post of a king-post crane is supported in an elevated reclining position on a barge beside a stationary structure extending above a body of water, with the crane boom inclined from the cenrtal portion of the king-post downwardly and outwardly past its top end. The foot of the reclining king-post is hinged to the side of the stationary structure, and the opposite ends of a cable sling are connected to the top end of the king-post and to the crane load line below the post, with the central portion of the sling extending around sheaves connected to the side of the structure above and below the king-post. When the load line is reeled in, the king-post is swung upwardly by the sling and boom, after which the erect post is fastened to the stationary structure above the hinge point.

When oil wells are drilled from a platform at sea or in a lake or the like, the drilling rig is removed after the drilling program has been completed. When it becomes necessary to work over such a well, another drilling rig must be placed on top of the platform. The equipment accompanying the rig will include a crane used to unload supplies from boats. It would be of considerable economic advantage if this crane could be used to lift the components of the new drilling rig to the top of the platform. This advantage would not be obtained, however, if a second crane is required for erecting the first crane.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a crane which can raise itself from a barge to a platform extending a substantial distance above the barge, and which can do this quickly in a very simple manner.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a side view of the reclining crane attached to one side of a stationary structure;

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the king-post erected; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view taken on the line III-III of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawings, the post 1 of a king-post crane is disposed in a substantially horizontal reclining position on a floating barge 2, with the foot end of the post projecting from one end of the barge. The king-post is supported several feet above the deck of the barge by means of standards 3, so that the boom 4 which is connected with the central portion of the kingpost can be located below it in an inclined position extending from the king-post outwardly past its top end into engagement with the deck of the barge. The righthand standard straddles the boom and has a removable cross member at the top supporting the king-post. The inner end of the boom is pivoted on a horizontal axis 5 to the front of a turntable 6 that encircles the king-post. This turntable rotates on a circular track 7 encircling the king-post, so that the turntable can be rotated at least 180 around the king-post in either direction.

Mounted on the turntable behind the king-post (above it in its reclining position) is a hoist 8, to which is attached a line 9 that extends out over the top end of ICC the post and down to the outer end of the boom for raising and lowering the boom relative to the king-post. Another hoist 10, preferably mounted on the inner end portion of the boom, is attached to one end of the load line 11 that extends out over the outer end of the boom and then back along the barge to a traveling block 12, by which a load can be lifted when the crane is erect. The two hoists can be controlled by control stations 13 and 14 mounted on the crane turntable and on the barge. Either station can be used in controlling both hoists. Although electric power could be used for operating the hoists, hydraulic hoists are preferred. Each control station therefore includes a driven pump, reservoir and controls connected with the hoists by flexible hoses 15.

The loaded barge is floated out to a stationary structure 17 that is to receive it and that extends above the body of water supporting the barge. This structure will be described as an oil well drilling platform, from which the drilling rig has been removed, although it could be any other structure needing the services of a crane. In order to allow some flexibility in hinging the projecting end of the king-post to a bracket 18 clamped on one leg of the platform and extending laterally therefrom in opposite directions, the post preferably is not attached directly to the bracket, but is connected to its opposite ends through an intermediate movable hinge bracket 19 (FIG. 3) by means of parallel horizontal hinge pins 20 extending through the opposite ends of the intermediate bracket. This facilitates connecting the reclining kingpost to the leg because it allows for some variation in the height of the foot of the king-post relative to the stationary bracket 18, and it also permits the connection to be made while wave action is raising and lowering the foot of the kingpost.

Also attached to the same leg of the platform are upper and lower pairs of sheaves. The upper pair of sheaves 22 are carried by a cross arm 23 clamped on the leg near the top of the platform. The lower pair of sheaves 24 are carried by a cross arm 25 clamped on the leg below the hinge brackets a short distance above the level of the barge deck. A cable or wire line is doubled upon itself to form a sling 26, and the loop of the sling is connected to the traveling block 12 of the crane near the end of the barge that is closest to the platform. The sides of the sling extend up around the lower sheaves and the upper sheaves and then extend outwardly to the top end of the reclining king-post, to which they are anchored.

To raise the king-post, the two hoists are operated from the power unit 14 on the barge. The boom hoist is operated to reel in load line 11, and simultaneously the other hoist is operated to pay out the boom line 9 in a relaxed condition. The result is that the load line between the outer end of the boom and the lower end of the sling is shortened, which causes the outer end of the boom to be pulled along the deck of the barge toward the platform. At the same time, the load line pulls the lower end of the sling away from the platform. The result is that the upper end of the sling pulls the top end of the king-post upwardly while the boom pushes upwardly on the central portion of the king-post, thereby easily swinging the king-post up to erect position as shown in FIG. 2.

As the king-post swings upwardly, the outer end of the intermediate hinge bracket 19 swings down until its central portion engages the adjoining platform leg and prevents further movement. It will be understood that the reclining king-post on the barge is supported high enough to ensure the crane turntable clearing the top of the platform when the crane is erected. When the king-post reaches erect position, brackets 28 on its back side are pinned to the top of the platform above the upper pair of sheaves 22 to hold the king-post upright and to steady it. The power unit 13 on the crane turntable then is operated to cause the adjoining hoist 8 to reel in boom line 9 in order to swing the boom upwardly oi the barge to raised operating position, such as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2. The power unit 14 on the barge then can be disconnected from the hoists if it is desired to remove the barge until it is time to remove the crane by reversing the operations just described.

We claim:

1. The method of erecting a king-post crane on a stationary structure extending above a body of Water, comprising supporting the crane king-post in an elevated reclining position on a barge with the crane boom extending from the central portion of the king-post outwardly past the top end thereof and downwardly to the barge, floating the barge to said stationary structure and then hinging the foot end of the reclining king-post to the side of the structure on a horizontal axis, connecting opposite ends of a cable sling to the top end of the reclining king-post and to the crane load line below the king-post, connecting the central portion of the sling to said side of said structure above and below said horizontal axis for lengthwise movement of the sling, reeling in the load line to pull the outer end of the boom along the barge toward said structure and to pull the lower end of the sling toward the boom so that the king-post will be swung upwardly by the opposite end of the sling and by the boom to erect position beside the stationary structure, fastening the erect king-post to said structure above said horizontal axis, disconnecting the load line from the sling, and then raising the outer end of the boom toward the king-post until the boom extends upwardly and outwardly away from the king-post.

2. The combination with an upwardly extending stationary structure, of an elevated reclining king-post of a crane beside it having a foot end disposed adjacent said structure, means hinging said end to the side of said structure on a horizontal axis, a turntable surrounding the central portion of the king-post, the distance from the hinging means to the turntable being greater than to the top of said structure, an inclined boom beneath the king-post having an inner end hinged to the turntable, the boom extending from the turntable outwardly past the top end of the king-post and downwardly to a supporting surface, vertical sheaves supported by said structure above and below said hinging means, a sling line connected to the top end of the king-post and extending inwardly over the king-post and down around said sheaves and then outwardly under the king-post, a

hoist carried by the crane, a load line extending from the hoist over the outer end of the boom and then back toward the lower end of the sling line, means detachably connecting the lower end of the sling line to the load line, means for operating the hoist to pull said load line, whereby the outer end of the boom can be pulled along said supporting surface toward said structure and the lower end of the sling line and be pulled toward the boom so that the top of the king-post will be swung upwardly by the sling line and boom, and means for connecting the king-post to said structure above said hinging means after the king-post has reached erect position.

3. The combination recited in claim 2, in which said hinging means includes a stationary bracket secured to said stationary structure, a movable bracket between the stationary bracket and the foot end of the king-post, and means hinging the movable bracket to said foot end and stationary bracket on a pair of spaced parallel horizontal axes.

4. The combination recited in claim 2, in which said stationary structure has a corner leg carrying said hinging means, and said sheaves consist of an upper laterally spaced pair and a lower laterally spaced pair, with the sheaves of each pair mounted on the opposite ends of a horizontal arm connected at its center to said leg.

5. The combination recited in claim 2, in which said operating means include a control station mounted on said turntable and a control station remote from the king-post and boom and operable independently of said first-mentioned control station.

6. The combination recited in claim 2, including a second hoist mounted on said turntable, a boom line extending from the second hoist over the top end of the reclining king-post and down to the outer end of the underlying boom, and means for operating the second hoist to let out the boom line as said load line is being pulled and to pull the boom line after the erect king-post has been connected to said structure, whereby to lift the boom to operative position.

7. The combination recited in claim 6, in which said first-mentioned hoist is mounted on said boom.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1954 Woolslayer et al 52-1l9 6/1961 Woolslayer et al. 52-741 X US. Cl. X.R. 

